Passenger-ticket



(No Model.)

V. R. SHEPARD.

PASSENGER TIGK'ST,l N0. 384,291. PatentedJune l2, 1888.

f7-fad.

, of words or figures on such surface.

UNITED ASrnrrns Mercator Cerros..

VINTON R. SHEPARD, OF COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.

PASSENGER-TlCKET.

,SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,291, dated Junel2, 1888.

Application tiled December 2G, Serial No. 186,793. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, VIN'roN R. SHEPARD, of Covington, county of Kenton,and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and use fnlImprovements in Passenger-Tickets and Casl1-Fare Receipts, of which thefollowing is a specification.

liIyinvcntion relates to passenger-tickets or fare-rcccipts; and itconsists in a novel c0nstruction of thesanie, all as hereinafter setforth and claimed.

It is a matter of common knowledge that railroads and other carrierssuffer from the dishonesty of their employes, and that, on the otherhand, employs are unjustly suspected by their employers.

My object is to provide a ticket and receipt which will protect bothemployer and employ, the one from loss financiallyand the other fromloss iu rcputatiomand at the saine time be simple and inexpensive.

In the drawings, Figure lshows a caslrfare receipt with certain blankspaces prepared with composition. Fig. 2 shows the saine with the blankspaces iiiled out. Fig. 3 is a side view of au open book of my improvedcushfare receipts and shows the thickened ends.

A is the ticket or receipt, which may be printed in any desired form orwording, leaving such blank spaces B as may be preferred. These blankspaces are then prepared with composition, so as to provide a suitableWrit* ing-surface, and yet would at once disclose any erasurcsoraltcrations that might be attempted There are a largenumberofcompositions that would accomplish this result, and I do not limit myselfto those described. Preferably I use black printers ink, lamp-black, orother dark substance as a foundation, and then, as a second coating, Iuse a preparation of spermaccti, wax, and turpentinc, or a compositionof similar character,aud, finally, I use ocher or other suitablecoloring material to bring these blank spaces to as near a uniform colorwith the body of the ticket or receipt as is practicable. In the methodabove described black is the foundation color. The spermaceti, Wax, andturpent-inc, or composition of similar charac1 ter, are added to giveand preserve a good Writingsurlhce, and to give an oiliness andelasticity that will insure bringing the black to the surface in casethe writing on the surface is attempted to be disturbed. The Wax givesbody and consistency to the surface. This composition also receives andholds the coloring, so that it cannot be rubbed off or marred, and keepsthe writingsurface smooth and soft and prevents it from hardening, aswould otherwise occur. The ocher or other coloring is used to give theseblank spaces a similar appearance to the body of the ticket or receipt.It will be readily seen that these colors may be reversed or otherssubstituted in their place, and I do not limit myself tothe materials orarrangement specified.

In place of spcru1accti,\vax, and turpentiue, I have found thatapreparation of spermaceti, wax, and spermoil answers the purposeadmirably; also, the same with turpentine added.

A Writing-surface may also be prepared by using the spermaceti, wax, andturpentine or similar composition on colored paper, the coloring of thepaper furnishing the background. i

Dotted lines c indicate pei'lorations by which check C` which Ipreferably use, may be readily torn from the ticket or check. Dottedlines (l indicate perforations by which the ticket or check can beconveniently separated from the book D, in which theyare bound. Inbinding the tickets into books the ends d and checks C may be thickened,so as to keep the tickets from resting upon each other an d injuringthe` com position, il" that is found necessary.

E represents the number of the book, and F the numbers ofthe tickets.

The blank spaces treated with my co1nposition secure a goedwriting-surface for a leadpencil, and the Writing upon it is moredistinct than would loe-produced by the same leadpencil on paper notprepared thus, and, as has been previously stated, any attempt aterasure or alteration of the words or figures Written on such surfacesWoul d so mix the colors as to produce an unsightly blot, which couldnot-in any Way be removed or concealed, and would furnish indisputableevidence that it had been tampered with.

There are several methods in which these cash-fare recci pts and ticketsmay be used. Preferably I would pursue the following meth od:Before-taking a train. ont the conductor ICO will'be furnished withabook of tickets, which will be charged against him. Vhenever in hisrounds through the train he finds a passenger who has not providedhimself with a ticket, the conductor will ascertain t-he distance whichhe wishes to travel, collect the fare fixed by the company for thatdistance, and issue one of my tickets so filled out as to show the dateupon which this passenger made his jour uey, the particular train uponwhich he rode, the station at which he took the train, and the stationat which he left it, the amount of fare he paid, and the conductorsname. The ticket filled out will be torn Afrom the book and handed tothe passenger for his inspection. When the passenger has examined it,the conductor will take it up, separate the check from the recept, punchthe cheek and hand it to the passenger as evidence that his fare ispaid, and retain possession of his receipt.

In case of a dispute between the conductor and passenger as to thedistance the passenger is entitled to travel, reference can be had tothe receipt in the eonduetors possessio1i,which the passenger` hasexamined and pronounced correct, and which corresponds in number withthe check lie holds himself. The record thus made, after inspection bythe passenger, would also be an important protection to the railroadcompany against unfounded claims.

Upon arriving at the end of his run/the conductor will turn over to theproper officer of the company whatever number of receipts he has in hispossession, together with the tickets of various kinds which he hascollected andthecash fareshehas collected. The number of receipts whichhe turns over must of course correspond with the number of cash-faretickets he has torn from the book which had been furnished him, and theamount of cash which he turns over must equal the aggregate amount offares represented by the receipts. Thus eut off from all opportunity toretain the receipts of cash-fare tickets which he has issued, or ofissuing them incorrectly-that is, for less than the amount of fare thcpassenger has paidor of altering them after they are issued, there isbut one method remaining by which the dishonest conductor can defraudthe company-viz., by neglecting to issue a ticket when a cash fare iscollected; but that would be an omission which the dullest spotter couldnot fail to note,and one which other passengers, as well as the onepaying the fare, would soon learn to observe, and in many cases,prompted by the hope of some slight reward from the railroad company, toreport to its proper officials. To take such-a chance a conductor willneed to be as foolhardy as he is dishonest, and it can be assumedthatinstances of that sort -will be rare.

No claim is made to any particular form of wording of these tickets orreceipts. It is obvious that these prepared blank surfaces may be usedfor many purposes, and I do not limit myself` to passenger-tickets andcash-fare re,- ceipts or palace drawingroom or sleeping-car tickets.

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A ticket or cardhaving a writing-surface composed of a foundation of some positive colorwith a preparation of spermaceti, wax, and turpentine, or similarcomposition spread thereon, and the whole covered by a coating ofcolori-ng material of the desired color, substantially as shown anddescribed. n

2. A ticket or card having a central portion of uniform thickness withthickened end portions, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A book of tickets or receipts, A, having blank spaces B, preparedwith a composition, substantially such as described, and also providedwith checks C and ends d, the said ends and checks being thickened,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

VINTON R. SHEPARD.

\Vitnesscs:

J. C. HARPER, WILLIAM S. HARTLEY.

